>>>>>>BTW, how old is this laptop? If the battery pack is several years old, it could be near the end of its useful life (i.e. its capacity to hold a charge decreases over time, and depending on how you've been using the battery could affect its useful lifespan).
>>>>>
>>>>>The laptop is 9 years old. A new battery should be delivered today. I can't wait to test it.
>>>>
>>>>Laptops have high-energy battery packs and manufacturers are deathly afraid of fires. A laptop battery will charge only if everything is perfect:
>>>>
>>>>- the battery
>>>>- the charger
>>>>- the interaction between the battery and the charger i.e. that the battery responds as expected to the charge being applied
>>>>
>>>>If anything looks "off", the laptop will run from utility power (in some models you can even remove the battery completely and run it on mains power), but battery charging will be disabled. Hence the dreaded "plugged in, not charging".
>>>>
>>>>Power outages are often accompanied by spikes. As a result, your charger and/or battery may no longer be "perfect".
>>>>
>>>>John makes an excellent (and unfortunately, expensive :() point about quality of replacement batteries. Although they usually cost twice as much, you're best off with OEM replacements. If you need to go Amazon or eBay, make sure the vendor has been around for a while, has lots of positive reviews, no recent bad reviews, and that the reviews are real (not bot-generated or otherwise fake).
>>>
>>>The power outage probably "killed" the battery. I bought a new one (I made sure that it says "new" on Amazon). But I don't know who made it. I will look up later. I simply replaced the bad one with the one I just bought and it says "59% available; plugged it and charging". So, the new one does work. Hopefully the manufacturer is a reputable and it won't cause a fire.
>>>Thank you.
>>>
>>>UPDATE. I took the new battery out of the laptop. The cells are made in Korea. Assembled in China. The original one has the same label (Korea/China).
>>
>>Dell doesn't make its own batteries. Most OEMs are supplied by Far East firms which take commodity cells and assemble them into custom-shaped battery packs and include some sort of battery management system (BMS). It's not impossible that your new battery was made by the same company that made the original one. Even if it's different it may be the same company that currently supplies Dell replacement "OEM" batteries.
>>
>>Even if it's a completely different company, if it has been around for a while and plans to remain in business it will take some care to deliver good products. Only the shadiest fly-by-night operators would knowingly sell you bad product, especially if personal injury or property damage could result.
>>
>>That said, I don't leave any laptops plugged in and unattended for extended periods. If you have any question about your new battery you could do the same, at least for a few days. During a probation period you might want to leave the laptop out of its bag to avoid potential "hot bag" syndrome.
>
>I looked on Amazon who makes the battery. The company name is Bovekeey (which, I am sure, tells nothing). It has 40 reviews. The bad reviews say something like "could not hold charge", or "didn't fit my laptop". At least none of the reviews indicate a fire hazard. I usually keep the laptop plugged into a docking station, 24/7. Even though I turn off the laptop at night. So, it is plugged in all the time. I may just unplug it for tonight and a few nights afterwards. This way, I will be able to monitor the battery during the day.
>Thank you.

Of course, had the battery caused a fire and the buyer was killed in that fire, then that buyer would not have posted a negative review...